As Though Nothing Could Fall
For the 100 Themes Challenge! Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis. But that's just the price I pay My destiny is calling me -Mr. Brightside by The Killers Chronological Order: 1, 32, 83, 21, 2, 95, 19, 22, 13, 9, 12, 4, 11, 16, 25, 82, 15, 42, 30, 46, 37, 64, 96, 57, 54, 78, 67, 61, 88, 72, 76, 50, 5, 8, 6, 10, 18, 23, 14, 26, 20, 31, 28, 29, 36, 27, 24, 60, 47, 43, 34, 45, 90, 53, 35, 44, 40, 51, 79, 77, 58, 56, 69, 55, 89, 85, 74, 97, 73, 62, 75, 81, 49, 59, 48, 38, 91, 65, 63, 66, 70, 41, 39, 33, 52, 17, 7, 3, 68, 71, 84, 80, 93, 94, 98, 92, 87, 99, 86, 100 The stories will be posted in order from 1 to 100, but if you don't want to be spoiled, read them in the above order. The Blurb Snowdapple, Rainheart, Redstorm, Lilycloud, Brackenclaw, and Skyfur are each struggling in their own worlds. But as life goes out, they discover that nothing worth fighting for comes easily, and the best things come when you fight the hardest for them. One: Introduction "The first meeting is always the hardest." Foxstar's yowl echoed through the camp, "Let all cats old enough to swim, gather for a clan meeting!" Snowpaw looked up from where she was sitting. She'd just awoken, and she was still tired. Leafflower hasn't even come to get me for training. What's going on? Rainpaw nudged Snowpaw, "Come on, sleepyhead! This sounds important!" The two cats walked over to the meeting rock. Foxstar stood at the top, looking poised. Snowpaw and Rainpaw settled with a group of apprentices, confused. "What's going on?" Snowpaw whispered. Skypaw muttered, "No idea. It looks super important. Just look at Foxstar!" Before anyone else could speak, Foxstar yowled, "Settle down! We have a very important meeting today. Yesterday evening, a patrol came across a young loner from the farm." Murmurs washed through the crowd, most suspicious. "A loner? On our territory?" "Didn't that farm burn down?" "I thought it was a dog attack." "But that was years ago!" Lilypaw hissed to the cats around her, "I was on that patrol!" Foxstar thumped her tail on the ground, "After personally speaking to said loner, I have given her permission to join WaveClan." More whispers erupted from the crowd, but Foxstar mewed over them, "Please, state your name!" A young she-cat stepped out of the crowd, and stood directly in front of the rock. Her voice shook, "R-Red." "Well, Red. From this day, until you recieve your warrior name, you will be known as Redpaw. I have entrusted Sunspark as your mentor. I hope she will pass down all she knows to you." Sunspark stepped up to the rock, and Foxstar continued, "Sunspark, since Nightclaw is now a warrior, you are ready for another apprentice. You will train Redpaw, as Toadspot trained you." Redpaw touched noses with Sunspark, while the crowd began to cheer. "Redpaw! Redpaw!" But Snowpaw felt the cheer was half-hearted, like WaveClan didn't trust the new apprentice. That's rude. They don't even know her! The crowd began to disperse, and Snowpaw and Rainpaw made a beeline for the new apprentice. As they reached her, they heard Sunspark say, "We'll begin training tomorrow." Rainpaw mewed, "Hello!" Redpaw tensed, "Uh... hello. Are you... apprentices?" Her voice was timid. Snowpaw mewed gently, "Yes. I'm Snowpaw, and this is Rainpaw. It's nice to meet you!" Redpaw relaxed slightly, "Er-nice to meet you too. Have... have you been apprenticed long?" Both cats shook their heads. "Don't worry, though! We can introduce you to everyone." Rainpaw mewed. Redpaw perked up, "Oh, okay! Your, uh, clanmates don't seem to like me very much." Snowpaw smiled, "Ignore them. They're your clanmates too, and if they don't like you, they're wrong." "Thanks! Who else is an apprentice right now?" She asked. Rainpaw mewed, "Well, counting you, and us, there's six." "That's a lot..." Redpaw muttered. Snowpaw mewed, "Aw, not really. It seems like it, but we're all pretty tight." Rainpaw nodded, "You'll fit right in!" "That's Skypaw over there. She's outgoing, but she's so sweet. You'll be really close." Snowpaw mewed, pointing her tail at a creamy white she-cat. Rainpaw continued, "Beside her is Brackenpaw, her brother. They're almost always together. Ever since their brother and mother died... Anyway, he's friendly, and very bold." Redpaw nodded, "Who's the creamy brown she-cat?" She asked, pointing her tail across camp. Snowpaw mewed, "Oh, that's Lilypaw. She's really sweet, but she's so good at everything. Hunting, fighting, you name it. I'm so jealous." Rainpaw chimed in, "But she's not arrogant, and she's so kind to everyone!" Snowpaw whispered to Redpaw, "Rainpaw's totally in love with her." "Am not!" "Are too!" Redpaw stifled a chuckle, "Sounds like this place will be nice." Snowpaw mewed, "Well, why don't we introduce you to them properly? Rainpaw, go round them up." Rainpaw nodded, "Okay!" Then she scampered off. Redpaw and Snowpaw walked slowly to the fresh-kill pile, while the other three apprentices made their own way over. Once all six were seated, Snowpaw broke the silence. "This is Redpaw. She's our new friend." Skypaw mewed, "That was blunt. Nice to meet you, Redpaw." Brackenpaw chuckled, "Nice to meet you too!" Lilypaw chimed in, "I'm sure you'll fit in great here." The ginger she-cat blushed, "Aw, you're all so kind! Thank you!" The six apprentices began to chatter, talking about a million things. Redpaw took them all in quickly, looking happier by the moment. Snowpaw's gaze remained fixated on the young she-cat. Something about her... was wonderful. "But introductions soon become interactions." Two: Complicated Three: Making History Four: Rivalry Five: Unbreakable Six: Obsession Seven: Eternity Eight: Gateway Nine: Death Ten: Opportunities Eleven: 33% Twelve: Dead Wrong Thirteen: Running Away Fourteen: Judgment Fifteen: Seeking Solace Sixteen: Excuses Seventeen: Vengeance Eighteen: Love Nineteen: Tears Twenty: My Inspiration Twenty-One: Never Again Twenty-Two: Me Against The World Twenty-Three: Failure Twenty-Four: Rebirth Twenty-Five: Breaking Away Twenty-Six: Forever and a Day Twenty-Seven: Lost and Found Twenty-Eight: Light Twenty-Nine: Dark Thirty: Faith Thirty-One: Colors Thirty-Two: Exploration Thirty-Three: Seeing Red Thirty-Four: Shades of Grey Thirty-Five: Forgotten Thirty-Six: Dreamer Thirty-Seven: Mist Thirty-Eight: Burning Thirty-Nine: Out of Time Forty: Knowing How Forty-One: Fork in the Road Forty-Two: Start Forty-Three: Nature’s Fury Forty-Four: At Peace Forty-Five Heart Song Forty-Six: Reflection Forty-Seven: Perfection Forty-Eight: Everyday Magic Forty-Nine: Umbrella Fifty: Party Fifty-One: Troubling Thoughts Fifty-Two: Stirring of the Wind Fifty-Three: Future Fifty-Four: Health and Healing Fifty-Five: Separation Fifty-Six: Everything For You Fifty-Seven: Slow Down Fifty-Eight: Heartfelt Apology Fifty-Nine: Challenged Sixty: Exhaustion Sixty-One: Accuracy Sixty-Two: Irregular Orbit Sixty-Three: Cold Embrace Sixty-Four: Frost Sixty-Five: A Moment in Time Sixty-Six: Dangerous Territory Sixty-Seven: Boundaries Sixty-Eight: Unsettling Revelations Sixty-Nine: Shattered Seventy: Bitter Silence Seventy-One: The True You Seventy-Two Pretence Seventy-Three: Patience Seventy-Four: Midnight Seventy-Five: Shadows Seventy-Six Summer Haze Seventy-Seven: Memories Seventy-Eight: Change in the Weather Seventy-Nine: Illogical Eighty: Only Feline Eighty-One: A Place to Belong Eighty-Two: Advantage Eighty-Three: Breakfast Eighty-Four Echoes Eighty-Five: Falling Eighty-Six: Picking up the Pieces Eighty-Seven: Gunshot Eighty-Eight: Possession Eighty-Nine: Twilight Ninety: Nowhere and Nothing Ninety-One: Answers Ninety-Two: Innocence Ninety-Three: Simplicity Ninety-Four: Reality Ninety-Five: Acceptance Ninety-Six: Lesson Ninety-Seven: Enthusiasm Ninety-Eight: Game Ninety-Nine: Friendship One Hundred: Endings